


Eulogy

by TheRandomCookie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Relationships, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Rating May Change, set in the 80's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-05 07:37:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13383198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRandomCookie/pseuds/TheRandomCookie
Summary: Here we go...high school. This is the place where everyone’s favorite gang starts their days off full of anxiety and mixed up emotions. Suddenly, when a strange happening takes place, the group of friends is faced with danger and a lot of drama that includes their feelings for one another.——This Klance fic was made with a TWIST. Our favourite characters all live in the 80s!.——Hope you enjoy!!





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a little something for ya   
> 80s klance, thoughts?
> 
> the song Keith was listening to: Queen - Now I'm here
> 
> tiny spoiler for this chapter:  
> (also, real quick, if you want the whole jibbly wibbly lightning stuff to feel more divine just listen to "O magnum mysterium by Tomas Luis De Victoria")

The sound of the alarm is already pissing Keith off. Today is the first day at his new high school - gray and cloudy. How fitting. He scoffs into his hands and jumps up from his bed to smash his alarm with his fist. The clock is near breaking point, which is what Shiro scolds him about, but his half asleep mind shuns his angry brother away and does as it pleases. Keith throws the sheets off of him nonchalantly and picks his outfit for today. Their school has uniforms, but, of course, Keith isn't going to wear it. Shiro thinks sending him to a more conservative school is going to help Keith clean up his act. Jokes on him, Keith thinks to himself, sticking his tongue out to the mirror. He fixed the collar of his leather jacket and ran a hand through his hair. And there's no way he's forgetting his finger-less gloves with spikes on the knuckles. Keith grimaces at the mirror and grabs his headphones with his Walkman, shutting the door behind him.

Shiro is already at school; he got a job there and as a teacher he needs to be there early for the ceremony. Or whatever bullshit they call it. Keith couldn't keep a devious grin from growing on his face. He stumbled down the stairs to the garage. He got closer to a figure covered with a dusty, dirty-green cloth. Keith clenched and unclenched his fists before pulling off the sheet in one swift move. He gasped at the sight of his beautiful red motorcycle. Though it was fairly dark, Keith could see her shine and could almost feel her roaring with her engine. Keith shook his head as if his motorcycle had said some snarky comment; he wasted no time getting on her. He wrapped his fingers around the handles, revving in place. His sigh was nothing short of a moan.

"Oh, I have missed you..." he whispered as he revved more, this time letting himself drive forward and out to the street. He fleeted fast; he circled around the neighborhood before he finally headed towards the school.

Keith smiled at the wind brushing through his hair. He can't believe he lived through an entire summer without his baby. It feels so great to have her back. Grounding he can take; he'll just sneak out the window. Getting his Walkman taken away; fine. But when Shiro takes away his baby... The world crumbles. Oh, how he protested and fought. But Shiro is just as stubborn.

In sudden spite for his brother, or maybe just for fun, Keith sped up the street, looking like he had a death wish. He parked in the parking lot of a diner near the school. That diner is where he grew up. His mom used to work there and he would sit there at one of the booths and wait for her shift to end. Keith smiles, melancholy lingering on his face for just a second before his eyes light up with something close to determination. Determination to do what? He doesn't know yet. But he puts on his headphones and presses play, taking steady, firm steps towards the Garrison high school.

The sign of the school makes Keith nervous and he stops at the gate, watching the other students gather.

 

_Here I stand (Here I stand)_

_Look around, around, around, around, around (around, around)_

 

Keith sighs, feeling his determination and spirit fleeting.

 

_But you won't see me (But you won't see me)_

 

He clenches his fists and bites his cheek.

 

_Now I'm here (Now I'm here)_

_(now I'm here) (now I'm here)_

 

Keith clenches even harder; forcing himself to take a step forward.

 

_Now I'm there (now I'm there)_

_(now I'm there) (now I'm there)_

 

Keith's now standing at the entrance, his hand reaches for the door.

 

_I'm just a_

 

He sucks in a sharp breath.

 

_I'm just a new man_

 

He busts through the door into the inhumanly loud building; he could hear the sound even through his headphones.

 

_Yes, you made me live again_

 

 Keith took steps down the long, yellow tint hallway. Students looked his way, stared and whispered among each other. It made Keith hang his head.

 

_A baby I was when you took my hand--_

 

Shiro pulled down Keith's headphones. He jolted at Shiro's dark expression. Keith straightened his posture, getting ready for a scolding session.

" _What_ are you _thinking_?" His voice was a bit softer than Keith had anticipated. So he let himself grimace and play dumb.

"What do you mean?" he folds his arms over his chest.

"First of all, where's your uniform," he gestures over to the teens staring at them, all dressed in boring school uniforms. "and second of all, I thought I told you to not touch that damned bike of yours."

"Okay," Keith leaned his head back with narrow eyes and furrowed brows. "first of all, don't talk about my baby like that; and second of all - how do you even know I came by the motorcycle?" he mirrored Shiro's strict tone. He couldn't keep his smirk at bay so he had to bite his lips.

"Don't think you're being slick. I know you only wear this jacket when you get on your "baby" as you call it." Shiro made exaggerated air quotes with his fingers on the word baby.

Keith rolled his eyes with a side-way smile."It's my lucky jacket." his smile faded as his eyes caught a tan boy making his way down the hall to his locker. His smile was wide, ear to ear, and his aura felt so bright, like it might bring spring again. The boy was accompanied by a taller, larger man. He seemed non the less friendly and warm.

"Keith?" Shiro nudged his arm. "You alright?"

"Huh? Yeah." Keith shook his head. he turned his attention away from the pair for just a moment to answer Shiro.

"If i see you driving that thing again, I'm going to sell it."

"You wouldn't dare." Keith gasped, comically putting a hand to his mouth like a shocked rich lady from the eighteenth century.

"You don't even have a driver's license."

"Well, the motorcycle drives just fine without the license. I can assure you." Keith shot back instantly, like he's been rehearsing this line. He turned his head to a source of a snort that came shortly after Keith's comment. It was the boy by the lockers. Only now he's right next to them. Their eyes met for just a moment, but in that moment the boy's smile faded and Keith's eyes lit up with something new. They stared at each other with a hint of surprise on both their faces.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. We were just walking by." Lance extended his hand to Keith, who took the offer. "I'm Lance. First day here." his smile returned.

"Keith. Also...f-first... day." he stuttered. He closed his eyes and bit his lip, cursing himself mentally. Soon enough, he gathered himself back. "It's nice meeting you." Keith tried his best to smile back.

Lance glanced at the male behind Keith. "Good morning, sir." he nodded slightly to Shiro, who smiled in return. "Already in trouble with the teachers?" he turned back to Keith.

"Oh, he didn't hear the half of it yet." Shiro looked at Keith, emphasizing the 't' sound in "yet". Keith looked at him with begging, but sharp eyes to forgive him. All Shiro did was sigh and pat him on the head. "You should get to the auditorium soon, they're gonna start the speech."

Keith nodded so overly exaggeratedly it almost seemed mocking, but Shiro didn't say anything else and left the three kids alone. Keith sighed in relief.

"Hey, I'm Hunk. I get nervous around teachers so I didn't introduce myself earlier." the tall figure scratched the back of his head, smiling.

"Nice to meet you." Keith nodded again, not being sure how to properly react.

"Wassup mutherfukers?!" a voice echoed to their direction and Keith knew exactly who that was. He shielded his left side of the face with his hand and let his eyes grow wide at the floor. "You didn't think you'd seen the last of me, did you?" a small female hung her arm around Keith's shoulder, pulling him closer to her own face.

"Why?" Keith dragged out the 'y'.

"That's right, it's Pidge." she said with a smug smile spread like peanut butter across her face, pointing at herself with her thumb.

"I thought you weren't going to this school." Keith growled under her arm.

"Yeah, but I can't just leave you to fend for yourself." she let go of him. "Plus my brother goes here, so..." she shrugged, throwing her hands up.

"We're gonna go to the speech now." Lance pointed towards the crowd gathering.

"Oh, we're coming too!" Pidge dragged Keith behind her as they got closer to the assembly school hall.

The quartet squeezed through the crowd to the very back, dodging the teachers. The assembly hall was quite big for a school, but the number of students made it seem otherwise. Keith noticed his brother standing near the stage, talking to the principal. Maybe sticking out like a sore thumb isn't such a great idea now that Shiro has to answer for him. Keith wonders if his brother might lose his job because of him.

"There's Matt." Pidge elbows Keith in the ribs and points over to the window. She drags him further, meeting her unamused-looking brother. The pair of boys they just met had been lost in the crowd. Keith made a mental note to himself to find them later.

"Welcome to literal hell." Matt chuckled, letting his head fall as if he was a cool main character in an anime. "You chose the wrong place to fool around, sis."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Look at this unusual sight." she said, pulling Keith closer.

"Oh, and unusual sight indeed. What are you doing at such a conservative school, you rebel?" Matt normalized his posture and slapped Keith on the arm a couple of times.

"Shiro pushed me into it." Keith glanced at his brother again. "He thinks I'll clean up my act a little."

"Will you?" Matt asked, but his voice and facial expression suggested he already knew the answer.

Keith snorted like a horse at a stable. "Of course not."

Matt burst into laughter before being shushed by one of the students. His response was scoffing and looking disgusted. "Who even cares about those speeches? They're the same every year."

"As first year's, Keith and I, will "listen" while you "go to the bathroom"." Pidge kept making air quotes throughout the sentence.

"I appreciate the offer, but they don't let any students out until this shit is over."

"Yeah, I'm already regretting my choice of schools." Pidge sighed. "Change of topic, so I don't feel completely miserable: Keith already made friends."

"What are you gonna tell me next? That the queen of England is going to burst through the door?" Matt folded his arms, looking at Keith with a smile that said 'no way'.

The sudden lightning made them jump. Not only did it make them jump, it made the whole assembly hall shake like an earthquake. Before Keith had a moment to ask what the hell was going on, he saw his brother dash for the backstage exit. He thought it was weird so what else is he gonna do if not run after him? Keith pushed through the crowd pretty quickly, jumping up on the stage and running to the exit door, which was already closed. The Holt siblings chased after him, stuck between encouraging him and stopping him. They stopped at the top of the few stairs leading to the exit door; Keith standing below. Keith glanced up at them. Then the siblings shared a look. Keith pushed the door open and stepped outside, instantly being drenched in rain. Shiro was nowhere in sight. Keith didn't understand how that could be, he was just here a second ago. Instinctively, he ran. Ran to the field behind the school. He could hear faint footsteps behind him, but he didn't turn back to look who it was.

The clouds became a more ominous dark blue, darker than the ocean. And the rain didn't seem like it was going to stop. Something flared up inside of him, but just exactly what was it? He couldn't pinpoint it. Somewhere between anxiety and anticipation, his heart stuttered. He finally stopped at the bottom of a hill, past the school stadium. While he was catching his breath, his friends caught up to him.

The anticipation in his chest grew into a longing pain, like he's missing his soul, his very essence of being. The pain so hollow, yet so real inside every breath he took. He wanted to throw up and cry and scream and laugh all at the same time. He thought he was going insane. Keith looked back at his friends, surprised to see Lance and Hunk there too. All of them looked like they were experiencing the same thing, except Matt, who tended to his sister writhing in pain. Though it wasn't physical pain; you couldn't do anything about it.

"What the hell is this?" the youngest of the bunch let her tears out.

"I don't know!" Keith clenched his chest, hoping it would ease the pain somehow.

Then another string of lightning hit the earth right where they stood. It filled their heads with a thousand echoes of voices all speaking at the same time a language they couldn't understand. The pain was gone, however, instead, it felt like their bodies were suddenly too small of a cage for the soul. A divine looking woman with dark skin and white-as-snow hair appeared from the sky, accompanied by bolts of lightning thundering far beyond the clouds. Her eyes where glowing a bright blue and she was smiling. She was the size of what Keith could only describe as a Goddess. She suddenly reached down to him, cupping his face. Keith closed his eyes at her touch, it felt so motherly and warm. He opened them again to see himself in a completely white space, just floating, bare. He didn't hear anything, nor feel anything on his skin besides her hands. All he felt was contentment.

She kept smiling and her eyes kept glowing, her lips parted and a single word rolled off her lips. He couldn't hear it, but somehow he knew what she wanted to say so he nodded. She pressed a kiss to his forehead. Keith leaned into the touch, closing his eyes once again. "Mother." he wanted to say, but his voice wouldn't travel. She pulled away, her smile more genuine now like she heard Keith's words. She caressed his cheek and left him in this empty, but comforting space. A space that he spent an eternity in. Waiting.

He woke up on the ground as if after a long, deep sleep. The rain had stopped, but the clouds were nowhere near parting, although, little beams of golden light reached out behind the dark mist. Keith looked around at his friends, who were getting up form the ground just as he has.

"Michael." Keith whispered to himself. He looked to his friends in confusion, desperately expecting them to have went through the same thing. To his relief, it seemed like everyone else was doing the same.

"The woman..." Lance broke the silence.

"She..." Pidge continued Lance's unfinished thought.

"Whispered something to us..." Hunk finished.

"Names." Keith added. "But what do they mean?" They were still too dumbfounded to move.

"Did we all get different names?" Lance looked around the group, who were subconsciously gathered in a circle. "I got Gabriel." 

"Rafahel" Hunk spoke up.

"Uriel." Pidge exhaled.

"Michael." Keith said.

"Archangels?" Matt furrowed his eyebrows.

The four of them turned to him like a bunch of kids with a question they are eager to ask.

"Is the town's water supply drugged or something?" Pidge jumped in.

"What the actual fuck just happened?" Keith rubbed his eyes. "Wait, where's Shiro?" Keith looked around desperately, but all his eyes could see were the dark woods covering the horizon. "Shiro!" he called out, completely forgetting what he was talking about before. Keith kept yelling and calling out his name until the worry in his throat choked his words. 

Matt put his hand on Keith's shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll come back."

"Why don't we go to that diner across the street?" Pidge suggested.

Keith nodded, not trusting his voice.

\-------

Keith sat at the booth with his head hung low and barely nibbling at his fries. He threw at the box what bite he was holding and leaned back, giving up on forcing food down his throat.

"Have you guys introduced each other already?" Keith said referring to Lance and Hunk to Pidge.

"Oh, we already know each other." Pidge chewed her bite.

"Mhm," Lance hummed as he sipped his milkshake. "we were in elementary school together." he explained.

"Oh?" Keith nodded, sipping his own drink. "It's nice to be reunited, right?" Keith turned his eyes to Lance, who was sitting opposite of Keith. Both of them were squeezed by the window.

"No, they were dicks to me back then." Pidge took another big bite of her burger.

"Hey, slow down and _chew_ your food." Matt scolded her, taking the same size bite out of his burger. Pidge rolled her eyes in return.

"We were being talkative." Lance leaned his head on the window and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, and wouldn't stop touching my equipment."

"We were curious kids! Can you blame us?" Lance threw his hands in the air and his lips formed a pout.

"Yes! In fact, I still hold a grudge for that." Pidge followed Lance's movements.

"We're sorry, we didn't know that equipment was so important to you." Hunk apologized.

"Apology considered." Pidge finished the last bite.

Lance pointed to Keith's almost full box of fries. "Are you gonna finish that?" he lifted his legs up to rest on the cushion.

Keith sighed. "No, go ahead if you want."

Lance greedily took the fries as Hunk followed with his eyes. "Aw, man, I was gonna ask that." he frowned.

"You snooze, you lose." Lance smirked as he dropped a fry into his mouth.

"Ugh, I'm all dripping wet." Keith complained, taking off his gloves.

Lance snorted at his comment, chocking on his food. "Yeah, I have that effect on people." he mumbled with his mouth full, holding back laughter. Keith grew red, blending with his red leather jacket. "I'm kidding!" Lance exclaimed.

"Stop, I'll tell your mom." Hunk threatened. Lance seemed to tense up instantly.

"Please don't." the boy swallowed hard. "I don't want her to take away my console again!" he cried out.

 "Pff," Pidge scoffed. "Keith got his bike taken from him during summer. He cried and cried to me everyday."

"I did not!" Keith protested, throwing his wet gloves at her. She avoided them, sticking her tongue out to mock him.

"Is that your bike?" Lance nodded towards the window. Keith's gaze followed outside to a lone red motorcycle parked outside.

"Yeah, that's my baby." Keith smiled proudly.

"You love it that much, huh?" Lance asked, his voice suddenly soft. It made Keith tense up.

"Her. Keith calls his bike _her_." Pidge smirked.

Lance chuckled and looked at Keith, meeting his eyes. "That's cute." he flashed his best smile to him. The group all looked at Lance like his skin was suddenly purple. Keith sat up straight, feeling a shiver run down his spine. He must be catching a cold...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all don't mind me ending a chapter this way
> 
> also please leave feedback thx <3


	2. Chapter 2

First days are never easy, but this one was near nightmarish. Sure, he might've made some new friends, but everything else has his head spinning in circles. The same thoughts keep repeating in a pointless effort to make sense of any of this. 

The deafening silence of the house makes his ears ring. Shiro has been gone since yesterday. Keith hoped that maybe he would come back that night with a crazy story that would ease his worry. But it's the next morning and there's no sign of him. Keith sighs into his hands and forces himself to get out of bed. The alarm was blaring a broken tune. The smashing is finally getting to it, he thought. He didn't have enough energy to punch it quiet today, which is for the better. Keith lazily picked his clothes off the ground, ignoring the uniform hanging on the door. 

He tried to convince himslef that his brother was already at work because knowing he's not here is too depressing. Keith even contemplated not going to school today. But thought of how Shiro would scold him for it and that made a smile spread on his face. Though, it quickly faded into a frown. 

The school was overrun with students trying to get to class. Keith was wandering the halls, anxiously looking around not sure for what. When he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. For a moment he thought, _hoped_ , it was Shiro. He almost called out his name, but Pidge's voice stopped him. 

"Good morning." She smiled weakly. 

"Morning." Keith let out the breath he was holding. Not hiding his disappointment. Pidge seemed to read his expression perfectly.

"Shiro didn't come back?" She let her own expression drop.

Keith didn't need to answer, her eyes told that she already knew what he'd say. 

"Maybe you should call the cops." 

"The cops? I don't think they'll do anything about it..." Keith crossed his arms.

"It's still worth trying, right?" 

 "Morning, you guys." Lance greeted them, standing between them. 

"Hey." The pair said in union. 

"Where's Hunk?" Pidge asked.

"He hurried to his biology class. Apparently there's a girl he's liked since middle school in his class." Lance opened his locker and threw a couple of books in there. 

"Biology?" Pidge leaned against the lockers behind her. 

"Biology." He sighed. Lance turned to look at Keith, shutting his locker. "How are you holding up?" He sounded sincere. Which caught Keith slightly off guard.

"Okay, I suppose." Keith shrugged, leading his eyes to look at the opposite row of lockers. 

 "Has your brother came home?" He asked carefully.

"No..." Keith dropped his gaze to his shoes. A firm, yet soft hand on his shoulder made his breath get caught in his throat. He looked up to meet a pair of sympathetic blue eyes. Keith's eyes grew a bit wider.

"We'll find him. I promise we will do everything we can to help." Lance smiled reassuringly. "Now come on, big guy, we have gym together." Lance patted him on the shoulder and walked down the hall with a sports bag draped over his arm.

Keith glanced at Pidge who was beaming, agreeing to what Lance said.

"I'll meet you guys after this class." 

Keith nodded and followed after Lance, who was waiting by the stairs to the changing rooms. 

"Man, having gym class first thing in the morning is awful..." Lance complained. 

"Helps you wake up." Keith pushed the door open.

The locker room was already full of students. The two of them found a quiet corner and settled there. But before they began changing, the principal of the school walked in with an announcement:

"First period is free. The teacher is absent. Go hang out in the library for now." 

And he left. His low, strict voice only a ghost echo in the room. 

Keith's shoulders dropped. Shiro was supposed to be their gym teacher. He dared lift his eyes to Lance, who was already staring at him. He was torn between looking away and keeping eye contact. So he just kept staring like an idiot before stuttering: 

"Uhm...I guess Shiro is our gym teacher..." Keith let his eyes wander off. 

"Let's go to the library." Lance brushed passed him. Keith was thankful he didn't try to make conversation about the subject. 

Keith stopped him by his arm. 

"Library?" He furrowed his eyebrows, but let a smirk appear on his lips. "Let's go to that diner. I'm starving." 

"That's against school rules!" Lance beamed. 

"Well, I'm going." Keith refused to let his arm go. But after a few awkward moments of more intense stares that sent shivers down his spine, he let go and headed through the door. 

"Wait, I'm going too." Lance caught up to him 

 

☆

 

"I haven't really seen you around before, are you new?" Keith sipped his milkshake. 

"Yeah, I moved here recently." Lance took a bite out of his burger. "Or rather, moved back. I used to live here way back." 

"And by way back you mean four years?" Keith held back a chuckle. 

"Well..." His voice raised in pitch. 

"Why did you move back?" 

Lance scratched his head. "I just felt drawn here. Like, I couldn't really keep away. I kept having these weird dreams about this town after I moved. I don't know...it's stupid."

"It's not stupid. I actually feel an odd attraction to this place too." Keith played with his straw. 

"I wonder if what happened yesterday has anything to do with that." Lance's eyes wandered out the window. "Came to school with your bike again?" Lance smiled, not taking his attention off the red bike.

"Yeah...she's special..." Keith isn't sure why he added that last part.

"How so?" Lance's attention was now on him. It made him rethink what he should say. 

"It's a long story..." 

"I'd like to hear it some time, if that's okay." 

Keith nodded, sighing. 

"So did your family move back with you?" 

"No, they stayed in the city. I live by myself in a dorm." 

Keith would've said 'must be nice' but the emptiness of his own house haunts him now that Shiro is missing. His expression must've betrayed him as Lance asked:

"Hey, you okay there, buddy?" 

_Ding_

The pair turned their eyes to the diner door opening and closing. Both of them relaxed after seeing their two friends making their way towards them. 

"I knew we'd find you guys here." Pidge beamed and slid onto the seat next to Keith. 

"Man, the smell of this place is making me hungry. I've had one hell of a class..." Hunk sighed, leaning back on the seat next to Lance. 

"Got yourself a date?" Lance lightly elbowed his friend. 

"Stop...don't be so loud." Hunk looked around wearily. 

Lance laughed in return. And Keith couldn't help but look at his friends softly. Just for a moment, while looking at Lance's bright smile, he felt like everything might be okay. So a smile of his own crept up his cheeks. 

"So, guys, any suggestions for how we're going to find Shiro?" Pidge asked. 

"Wait, we're seriously going to search for him ourselves?" Keith frowned. 

"Well, yeah. We're not just gonna sit on our hands and do nothing." Pidge stole a handful of fries off Lance's plate. 

"But where do we even start?" Hunk looked between them. 

"What do we know so far?" Lance leaned on the table

"Not much." Pidge sighed. 

"He ran outside after that lightning hit..." Keith looked down at his empty milkshake glass

Everyone looked at him in silence for a minute.

"Are we gonna talk about what happened?" Hunk broke the silence.

"Do you think the thing that happened to us happened to him too?" Keith tore a hole in the napkin he's been fidgeting with.

"I'd it had... wouldn't he be back by now?" Pidge said, voice careful and weary. "I mean we're all fine, right?" She added, sounding more confident. 

"Right... we can search the woods behind the stadium for any clues to where he might've gone." Lance stood up. Everyone else except Keith followed suit. The boy's eyes settled on Keith. "We'll find him." 

 

 

☆

 

They had to return to classes. Being away from them, the classes felt twice as long. And the time with them felt twice as short. The days went quick, but not quick enough and still, there was no sign of his brother. 

They searched the woods like they said they would. But nothing else than a clearing burned out seemed of importance. 

•••

"It looks like lighting hit here too." Pidge touched the bark of one of the trees around the area.

"It's probably where he was then, if we assume that he was struck." Lance examined the ground beneath them. 

"Guys..." Pidge pulled out a strange machine, fitting in her hand.

The other three gathered around her and the tree embarked with strange symbols.

"I think it's Enochian." She uttered while fidgeting with the parameters of her machine. She put it up to the writing and it took a moment before it beeped in high pitch. She narrowed her eyes. 

"What does it say?" Keith peered over her shoulder. 

"He who has fallen shall rise once more. God's favourite son..." Lance read out.

"Oof, that's not good..." Hunk sucked in a sharp breath.

"What do they mean by that?!" Keith threw his hands up in frustration. 

"It's biblical. Do any of you go to church?" Lance narrowed his eyes at them. When no one have a response he continued: "Lucifer. That's what they mean. He was God's favourite until he turned on humanity and so God sent him for eternal damnation." 

Lance put his hands on his hips, looking at his dumbfounded friends.

"That's... really creepy." Hunk muttered. "You dont think kids from the school could've done this as a joke?" 

"Do you even see where we're standing?" Pidge retorted. "Plus it doesn't look like it was carved in with a knife." 

"It's kind of a dead end... what do we do now?" Keith crossed his arms. 

•••

The knot in his stomach kept turning every time he remembered he'd have to come back to an empty home. He can't take another night of bad dreams, nightmares. 

"Hey, Lance." Keith swallowed nervously. 

Here's another thing keeping him up at night: he's been feeling all sorts of weird around Lance. Electricity coursing through him every time they touch, his mouth becoming dry, words getting caught in his throat, his limbs not cooperating. It's got his brain all fuzzy. Oh god, and when he smiles... Keith's brain shortcircuts. 

"Yeah?" Lance beams at him and Keith's heart swells. 

"D-do you want to come over tonight?" 

"D-d-d-d-d-do you?" Pidge mocks him as she walked by to her locker. "What's gotten into you?" She looked at him sideways. 

Keith tensed up, clenching his fists. Annoyed by the heat collecting in his face. 

"I'd like to." Lance answers. Briefly looking between them. "We could all come. Maybe work a little more on finding Shiro?"

"Yeah..." Keith said in a whisper.

Pidge shut her locker door, watching the pair separate. 

"I'll see you at eight?" Lance retorts as he heads to class. Keith nods.

She raises her eyebrow, looking at Keith, who is still staring at him. 

"What was that?" She made him turn to her with a jolt.

"Nothing." Keith folded his arms over his chest.

"That didn't look like nothing." She mirrored his actions. 

"I keep having nightmares, I don't want to sleep alone tonight..."

"Oh, so you're gonna sleep with Lance?"

"Not in that way!" He snaps at her, face flushed.

"I didn't know you were into him." Pidge continued mocking him.

"I'm not." Keith says as-a-matter-of-fact.

"I'm just teasing." 

"Well, stop..."

 

☆

 

Keith has been jittery all evening. He's checked the clock more times than he can admit and the closer it got to eight, the more nervous he got. And he had no idea why. Shiro would know. If only he could talk to him. He's been worried sick. 

He shakes his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. After all, he invited Lance over to stop thinking about it all. A doorbell snapped him out of his head. 

"Hey." Keith waved awkwardly. 

"Hey." Lance smiled, waving back. "Hunk and Pidge wanted to get some equipment So they'll be a little late." 

"Oh." Was all he could muster up.

He let the boy in.

"Wow, Yeah, I see why you wouldn't want to stay alone here." 

"What do you mean?" 

"It's not hard to imagine this place infested with ghosts. No offence."

"I'm not afraid of ghosts." Keith scoffs.

"Really? Cuz I brought an Ouija board." Lance grinned at him. 

"Fine, I'll play. I'm no coward." Keith crossed his arms.

They set it up, candles and everything. The candle light only reaching their faces makes this feel more intimate than it should. For a moment Keith second guesses himself. But being too stubborn, carried on anyway. 

"Ready?" Lance beckoned. 

"Always." Keith didn't let his voice waver. 

Lance bit his lip. A simple gesture that managed to send butterflies up Keith's stomach. 

"Let's start then." They put their fingers on the planchette. "Are there any spirits here tonight?" 

Keith kept a firm eye on Lance's expression before his attention was grabbed by movement under his fingers. 

"You're moving it!" Keith accused Lance.

"Am not!" Lance cried back. 

The plachette moved to 'yes' and Keith retrieved his hand.

"Dude! You're not supposed to take off your fingers, the spirits will fuck you up!" 

"This is stupid." Keith rolled his eyes, but put his fingers back. 

"Are you a friendly spirit?" 

It spelled out 'depends'.

"Depends? What does that even mean?" Keith fought the urge to pull away again. 

It moved again. 'Friend or enemy'.

The two boys exchanged glances.

"Lance, I swear to god if you're doing this..."

"I'm not, I swear." 

They fingers touch briefly and there's that damned electricity again. The board spells out some nonsense and the candles go out.

This time they both pull away. 

"What the fuck." Lance squealed out.

"Are you fucking with this somehow?" 

"No, I'm freaked out." 

They jumped at the sound of the door bell. 

"I'm not getting that." Lance shook his head.

Keith clicked his tongue and tried to ignore the chill he was getting. He hesitantly put his hand on the door knob then jumped at the knocks on the door. He quickly swung the  door open to reveal Hunk and Pidge standing on the porch.

"Jesus, why is it so dark in here?" Pidge exclaimed, pushing passed Keith. 

"Hello to you too." Keith sighed of relief.

"Were you guys messing with spirits? Hunk pointed to the Ouija board near Lance.

"Briefly."

"Let's... get something to eat." Keith turned on the light and it's like a weight was lifted off the room. 

"I brought snacks." Hunk followed Keith into the kitchen.

 Pidge settles next to Lance, who is cleaning up the candles. She sets up her equipment. 

"How is that gonna help us?"  Lance curiously poked one of the machines. 

"Don't touch it!" She groaned, slapping away his hand. 

Lance scoffed in dissatisfaction. 

"I'd explain, but it would take too long." She pressed a pair of headphones to her ear and tapped a few keys.

Lance sighed and sat back. Keith and Hunk walked in shortly, Keith was laughing at something Hunk said. 

 "Glad you two are getting along well." Lance said, throwing an arm behind his head.

"You guys wanna watch The Hunger?" Hunk set a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and plopped down on the couch. 

"Aw, dude I've been meaning to watch that movie for a while now." Lance climbed up next to his best friend. He patted the seat next to him. "Keith, come." 

"I'm not a dog." Keith gushed out through gritted teeth. He was biting back a smile.

 The trio got cozy while Pidge was working the strange computer thingies on the floor. Keith couldn't keep his attention on the movie. His head was spinning especially when Lance would shift in his seat and they would briefly touch. His quiet 'sorrys' were even worse because his breath would brush up against his skin and make shivers run up and down his body. During a particularly startling scene Lance instinctively grabbed Keith's knee. Keith felt like he might throw up from a fever. 

"Christ!" Lance turned to him then traced his eyes down to his hand and moved it away quickly. "Sorry, dude..." 

"It's fine." Keith squeezed out.  

The movie ended and Lance stood up to stretch. Keith's whole right side felt colder and emptier suddenly. He got up, stumbling a bit. 

"Did your legs fall asleep?" Lance chuckled. 

"I don't really feel that well..." Keith clenched his stomach. "I think I'm gonna throw up." 

"Oh, Keith, please don't do it here. Because I might throw up too!" Hunk hugged a pillow to his chest.

It started going dark in his eyes. He was having trouble standing up, but he wasn't just going to faint. Determined, he headed for the steps but tripped. Before he could hit the ground a pair of arms caught him. 

"You're really not well..." Lance put one of his hands around Keith's waist and put Keith's arm around his shoulders. "Help you to the bathroom?"

Keith would've said thank you but he might've vomited if he had so he just nodded. Lance's hand on his waist really didn't help his nausea. 

As soon as they reached the bathroom Kieth heaved into the toilet, but nothing would come out. Lance rubbed his back, which made him feel a tiny bit better. 

"Do you want some water?" He asked. 

Keith nodded. Lance made an agreeing hum and left Keith. He got up and walked to the sink, his whole body was trembling. 

"Way to make an impression..." Keith sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. Then his expression twisted. "Wait, why would that matter?!" He shook his head and splashed his face with cold water.

 "There ya go." Lance handed him a glass of water. Keith wondered if he heard his monologue. He probably didn't want to know the answer to that.

Keith chugged it down in one gulp. 

"Do you feel a little better? You didn't really throw anything up..."

"I'm okay." Keith set the glass down.

"Well, how about we get ready for bed?" Lance leaned against the door frame. 

"We?" Keith looked up at him.

"Yeah. I'm gonna watch over you if you get sick again."

That made his lungs hurt in a weirdly good way. Is he coming down with some disease or something?

"O-okay..." Keith cursed himself for stuttering.

"I'll leave you to shower." Lance slapped the wooden frame and shut the door after himself.

Keith sighed for what had to be the hundredth time that evening.

He emerged from the shower to find Lance already in his sleep clothes.

"You know, I'm glad you invited me over. It gets lonely in that dorm room sometimes." Lance was sitting crosslegged on the floor. 

Keith joined him. "You don't have a roommate?" 

"Nah, no one really _wants_ to be my roommate..."

"You're kidding, right?" 

"Nope, I wish I was. Guess they just can't take my charm." He flashed his best grin, throwing finger guns at Keith.

Keith wanted to say something to comfort him, but _nevermind_ , he thinks.

Lance lays down on the blowup matters, looking a bit sad. Keith decides he doesn't like seeing him sad. 

"Are you gonna be comfortable on that?" Keith asks.

"I'll be fine. The dorm beds are much worse." 

"Do you want to go to sleep already?" 

"Why? You wanna go ghosthunting?" Lance regained his smirk. 

Keith huffed and rolled his eyes. He slipped into his bed, consciously looking away from where Lance is. 

Even though Lance is asleep by now, Keith is wide awake. He turns on his side, this time facing his way. Overcome by his urge, he got up and quietly tiptoed to Lance's mattress and loomed over him, casting a shadow over him. By this point Keith started slipping, not feeling in control. He was so close to Lance that he could feel his breath on his skin. 

Lance opened his eyes and they grew wide instantly. What Keith couldn't see was that his face had grown feathers, his eyes an odd yellow shade seeping with hunger and fangs like a wolf's dripping with drool. But to top all that, crimson wings spread so big it couldn't quite fit between the walls of the room. A low growl escaped his mouth before he lunged forward, sinking his teeth into Lance's throat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy


	3. Chapter 3

"Ow..." Lance massaged his neck carefully. "Whose idea was it to go to the woods at three am with Mothman over here trailing behind us?" He pointed at Keith, who was still in his strange monster form, but with chains chiming to his movements.

"If you wanna sneak out a seven foot monster in broad daylight, go ahead." Pidge kept her eyes on a screen. 

"Yeah, but why the woods?" Lance kept glancing at Keith. Whether it was to check on him or out of anxiety, he wasn't sure. He guessed it might be both. Lance sighed to himself. 

"We might be able to keep him safe here until we know how to turn him back." Pidge answered. "Or what made him turn this way..."

Lance tried to ignore the knot turning in his gut. He traced his fingers on the bite Keith left. It was healed already. Lance turned to him for the thousandth time and looked his friend down once more. He hadn't noticed the fox-like ears, which were now dropped down, resembling a sad puppy. Lance almost felt bad for him, but reminded himself that this thing might not be Keith.

"Here." Pidge stopped and Lance tripped over her. 

"The clearing with the weird tree carvings?" Hunk clenched the loose ends of the chains in his first."I think this is the worst place for it." 

"It's far enough inside the woods plus we know the way here. We can easily come back for him." Pidge argued.

"Wait, we're leaving him?!" Lance felt an unjustified wave of anger wash over him. "You can't just fucking leave him in the woods by himself!" 

Keith's ears perked up and a tiny growl escaped his fangs. It was soft, But it was enough to make Lance flinch.

"Calm down, Lance..." Hunk patted his friend's shoulder.

"We'll guard him in shifts." Pidge corrected her glasses. "I'm not going to leave him all alone. Not like this." 

"I'll take the first shift then." Lance volunteered. 

"Are you going to be alright? He did bite you in the neck and all." Hunk lead Keith away from Lance and towards one of the trees. 

"It's weird... It healed almost instantly, too." Pidge followed Hunk. "What if he injected some sort of venom inside of you? Maybe having you watching over him isn't the best." 

"I'm fine!" Lance doesn't know why he's getting so riled up for. "It's healed, so it's fine..." Lance let his gaze drop to the creature that was once, no _is_ , Keith. He seemed to sit patiently, digging his claws into the ground. Lance wants to say sorry, but he just doesn't know what for.

"I'd still like a blood sample from you." Pidge's voice seemed to have grown softer.

"Fine." 

Lance distracted himself while Pidge stuck a needle inside his vein. Hunk is doing a great job at keeping Keith calm. Keith's ears even wiggle a little as if to show his amusement. It makes Lance feel a certain way... A way he hasn't felt before. He gets carried away in thought. 

"Lance." Pidge snaps him out of it.

"What?" Lance looks to her, pretending he wasn't just staring at the other pair with narrow eyes. 

"Hold." She said as she pressed his fingers to the cotton ball covering the pricked vein. 

"Will you send me a letter with the results?" Lance tried to laugh. 

"I'm almost done, actually." 

"Oh." Lance lifted his eyebrows. His attention naturally drifted to Keith, who was squirming, trying to get his claws out of the cuffs. "I think our guy is getting impatient."

It wasn't long before he was foaming out the mouth and kicking at the ground, trying to free himself from the chains. He couldn't flap his wings as the trees were too dense around him. But he tried. Tried and failed, getting loose branches stuck between his feathers. 

"How do we get him to calm down?" Lance took a few steps backward, keeping his eyes on Keith. 

"Sing him a lullaby?" Hunk shrugged, though, his voice shook with nerves. 

The trio was getting more and more uneasy as the chains began carving into the trees. 

"Alright..." Pidge sighed, sounding clearly panicked. "Oh, fuck...uhm..." She looked around the ground as if the answer to their problem might be written in the dead leaves. "How did he even become this way?" Pidge turned to Lance.

"Don't look at me! I woke up and he was like this." Lance threw his arms in the air.

"But you were with him most of the time." Hunk said. 

"We fucking played with the Ouija board before you guys came! But there's no way it has anyth-" 

"The fucking Ouija board?! After what happened to us in the stadium, you decide bringing an Ouija board is a good idea?" Pidge yelled at him, stepping closer and making him back against a tree. 

"It's a kids game!" Lance protested, scratching at the tree bark. 

"Apparently, that kids game could fucking do this!" She pointed back at Keith, who was still fighting to get out. 

"You don't know if that's what did this to him!" Lance shot back. This time leaning towards her. 

She calmed down a bit, crossing her arms and shutting her mouth. "Then we need to figure out for sure..." 

"Keith, buddy... it's me. Lance." he slowly moved towards him, hands in the air to signify he means no harm. Though, he feels ridiculous doing that to one of his friends.

"Lance, what are you doing?" Hunk let himself get a step closer.

"I'm trying to get him to calm down." He turned his head momentarily to Hunk. 

"It doesn't seem to be working very well."Pidge exclaimed. 

"I'm _trying_." Lance frowned. 

Keith kept struggling, putting his whole body into trying to break free. 

"Buddy, please-" Keith interrupted him by managing to get inches away from his face. Keith's breath present as a ball of smoke between them. Soon, Lance realises that it's not anger in Keith's eyes, but deep sorrow. Yet it was buried well. A stream of tears exposed him, though. "Keith?" Lance had just about enough courage to reach out for him, but his courage was quickly dispersed.

" _Carissime_..." Keith's voice sounded foreign, like it didn't belong to him. It was a pained, shaky, yet soft female voice. " _Amica mea...amica mea, quod te?_.." It sounded like the woman was weeping, which reflected on Keith's face.

"What is he saying?.." Lance was pulled back by his two friends. While Keith continued to weep in a womanly voice that didn't belong to him, the other three racked their brains on what this all could mean. 

"Do we even know what language that was?" Lance felt his heart stutter with dull pain while seeing his friend in the ground like that. In pain.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's Latin..." Pidge rubbed her nose bridge. "I have no idea what it means, though..." 

"We should maybe read up on it, there should be some mythology books in the school library that might help." Hunk rubbed his eyes. He looked tired. 

"I'll stay with him, you two can go." Pidge say down, making herself comfortable against a tree.

"Will you be alright here by yourself?" Hunk asked. 

"Yeah, you go on ahead." She assured them. 

"Be safe!" Lance waved goodbye as they wandered away.

 

☆

 

 Lance was restless at school. He could hardly sit through the classes when in the woods right outside the window a surreal creature like Keith was just chained up. He didn't notice how his hand traced over the bite mark. 

"Hey, Lance." Hunk waved in front of Lance's eyes to catch his attention. "You there, pal?"

"Yeah..." Lance sighed and gripped his hair, leaning on the table. A few books lay scattered across, some of them open. All of them about mythology and mythical creatures. 

"I found a few close resemblances, but none really tell us much." Hunk leaned back in his chair, throwing the book in front of him. 

"I was thinking..." Lance eyed the books, glancing at the scetches. "Let's skip lunch and go see how Pidge is doing." 

"Skip lunch? No way, I'll starve!" Hunk protested. 

"You can eat on the way there." Lance said as he picked up his bag and head out the door. 

"What are you gonna eat?" 

"I'm not hungry..." Lance whispered to himself, but he was sure his friend heard it too. 

•••

It's not hard to leave the school when the weather is warm: you dont need to pick up your coat and the school let's students hang out outside. 

Once you get passed the guarding teachers it's all clear. Lance will admit that his heart was pounding like crazy and his movements felt awkward. He didn't mind skipping class, but there was always the thought in his mind of what he would do if he got caught. Hunk seemed to be too preoccupied with his lunch to give much attention to the school faculty. 

They make it to the stadium and run into a few students coming back from a store with snacks hidden away (quite obviously) in their bags. They give the pair a thumbs up and pass without a conversation. Lance smiles and greets them with a wave while waiting for them to turn the corner. As soon as they were out of sight he made a run for the woods, Hunk following after. It was quite a distance from the stadium so in order to not get spotted they needed to hide away fast. 

 They both ran out of breath, but they finally made it into the forest. They just needed to take a few turns down the narrow path and they found themselves at the clearing. 

They were surprised to see Matt there. With Pidge sleeping on his shoulder. 

"Matt...hey." Lance searched for Keith, to find him napping on the ground. "How's...how's he been?" Lance nodded towards Keith.

"Exhausted. He was up all night trying to get out and sobbing some nonsense every now and again." 

"You were here at night too?" Hunk asked, sitting on a stump.

"Yeah, Pidge asked me here. Props to you guys for handling him, he is freaking _terrifying_ when awake." Matt laughed, though, quiet enough not to wake up his sister. 

"Has she found anything out?" Lance asked impatiently. 

"Not much. It might sound insane, but I think he's possessed." Pidge rose up and rubbed the sleep off her eyes. Matt dusted off his shoulder, on which she was lying. 

"Possessed?" Lance lifted his eyebrows and scoffed. "That's actually in-fucking-sane." He crossed his arms.

"Is it?" Pidge scoffed back. "Look at him, Lance! Is a possession really that unbelievable when you have him lying there looking like _that_?"

"But..." Lance frowned at Keith breathing heavily. His wings lifting with his rising chest. He let his arms go loose. 

"That's our best guess so far..." She let her expression drop. 

"I'll take the next shift." Lance stated, not taking his eyes off him.

 

☆

 

Lance settled with a blanket and a thermos, his back against a particularly wide tree. 

"You know, this place gives me the creeps." He says while staring Keith into his yellow, glowing eyes looking intently at him. "You're not helping either." He took a sip of his hot coffee.

Lance adjusted the communication machine Pidge had whipped up. He played around with it before daring to look up at the creature again. He was staring back, in fact, it felt like he hadn't even looked away. He acted too much like an animal, but Lance heard him speak. Well, some woman speak through him...

"Are you cold?" Lance pulled the blanked closer to himself. Keith just kept on staring. Lance sighed. "Can you even understand me?" He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the tree. 

Lance noticed the gentle chiming of the chains. Paying a little more attention, he could see Keith's silhouette trembling. 

"You are cold, aren't you?" Lance sighed into his hands and got up. 

Keith stayed in place like a pole. He wouldn't budge until Lance got within a foot of him. Then he backed away, doing it every time Lance tried to get near. Lance clicked his tongue. 

"Do you want this blanket or not?" 

_Stare_  

Suddenly Keith's ears perked up like he heard something. Lance immidietly turned to where Keith was staring. But he couldn't see anything. He clenched the small communicator on his hand. 

"Yeah... Maybe staying in the woods at night by myself wasn't a very bright idea." Lance tried pushing his wild imagination aside. Keith let out a small growl reflecting unamusement. 

Before Lance could reply, his head snapped to the direction of a branch breaking. Everything after was too quiet. All he could hear was his heartbeat running wild. He was paralysed with fear, only staring at the direction of the sound. 

 Lance thought he began imagining figures moving through the dark backdrop of the woods, but felt like he was dreaming when an elvish looking woman stepped into his tiny lit up circle. 

She had dark skin, hair white and fluffy like the clouds and pointy ears like an elf. Overall, she was beautiful. Lance relaxed a bit. He smiled confidently and took her hand to plant a kiss on. 

"Good evening, my lady. How may I help you?" He kept holding her hand in his. 

She blinked a few times, eyes not betraying any emotion. 

"Who are you?" 

"Why, I'm Lance." He flashed his toothy grin. 

Their little interaction was interrupted by Keith's growls. This time they sounded more aggressive. She pushed passed Lance and kneeled down where Keith was settled. 

He was still growling. Now even more so. He didn't like her, that's for sure. But she wasn't afraid of him. She cupped his face, pressing their foreheads together. 

"Hey, what are-" 

Keith's mouth began foaming again, his whole body was fighting to pull away from her.

" _Recede a me, te malus mulier!_ " There's that woman's voice again.

"Hey, let go of him." Lance stepped forward. She ignored both Lance and Keith's squirming.

" _Esne tristis?_ " She caressed his feathers lightly. 

" _Te furati sunt eum!..de me!_ " It didn't even sound like angry yells anymore, it was an agonizing scream. The woman, whoever she is, is in a lot of misery. " _Illi dare... Redde mihi eam...arcanum meum - vir meus_." 

" _Huc ducite eum_." She forced an acid-green liquid down his throat and he began heaving. 

" _I paenitet_..." the woman's voice echoed through the forest with contentment.

Keith was retching violently, clawing at the dirt. He threw up a black slime-like thing and his figure began to shrink until he became human again. 

Lance rushed to his side, putting the blanket around Keith. 

"Are you okay?" Lance asks. Keith nods. 

"Please don't play with things like that again." She stood up and looked down on the pair.

 "What happened to him? What did you do?" Lance stood up. 

"You two let a spirit in. I simply got rid of it." She crossed her arms. 

"Do you, by chance, have anything to drink?" Keith asked in a raspy voice, clutching the blanket tight. 

"Of course..." Lance kept his gaze on her, but handed Keith his thermos. 

"Stop looking at me like that." She narrowed her eyes at him. 

"Excuse me for staring, but I've never seen a person with elf ears before." 

"You just saw your friend in his _angelus_ form..."

"I guess you're too beautiful for me to look away." Lance exclaimed. 

Keith cleared his throat and the other two turned to him. 

"Leave your bad flirting for after I've returned home." He groaned.

 

☆

 

Pidge rubbed her chin, mulling over what they just told her. 

"So I was right. It was a possesion." 

"Yes. A normal person wouldn't have survived the possession." Allura said, patiently sitting. 

"Hear that?" Lance elbowed Keith in the side. "You're not a normal human being." Lance smiles.

"Ow..." Keith rubbed his side, glancing sideways at Lance. 

"It's true. Neither are you." She beamed. 

Lance's smile dropped. He pointed at himself. "Me?" 

Allura nodded. "Not just you, all four of you here." She briefly looked between the surprised faces of the young kids.

"You mean we can all turn into one of _those_ things?" Hunk hugged his arms like he just got a chill. 

"Not exactly that, but yes. You'll learn to control it eventually." 

The four students shared looks and sat in silence. They all had the same question on their minds. 

"Who are you exactly?" Pidge finally spoke up. 

"Allura. I already told you." 

"Yeah, but like... we saw you during that storm in our heads... it's pretty freaky." 

The others agreed by nodding their heads. 

"You could say I'm your guardian. I'm here to watch over you." 

"Watch over us?" Keith scratched his head. 

"What else would I be doing?" 

"Explaining what the fuck is happening? Maybe?" Lance threw his hands in the air. 

 "We're talking?" She raised her eyebrow. 

"No, I meant... Keith turning into that thing, you showing up in our imagination and suddenly materialising into existence." He put his hand over his forehead.

"Oh, you will pilot the lion units." 

"Excuse me?" Keith frowned.

"You've been chosen as the next pilots. Since you were inhabited by the archangels, you gained that special form." 

"Yeah, I'm even more confused now." Lance leaned back, letting his arms go limp beside him.

"Do you know anything about my brother?" Keith looked like he was about to shed out of his hide. 

"Shiro? Well of course! We've become quite good friends!" Her face lot up with a genuine smile. 

Keith glanced at Lance, who was staring ar her with eyes like that of a child, who just saw a mountain of ice cream. Then he felt like it was a little harder to breathe so he looked away. But the irritation didn't disappear. 

"You knew about him all along and you didn't even bother telling me?! Do you know how worried I was?!" 

"Dude, calm down. How was she supposed to know you were fretting so much about it?" Lance cut in.

"I'm sorry. But he had a really hard time I didn't want to make it worse."

"Worse? You think me seeing him would make him feel worse?!" 

 "I can take you to him if you'd like." She let a frown settle on her lips.

☆

 

 They walked down a narrow path that was almost invisible, only a line of strange looking mushrooms kept them on track. They went deeper into the woods, deeper than the Devil's marsh (That's what the group calls that place with markings). 

Eventually they reached a small cabin engulfed in the early morning sunshine. They neared the front porch and a tall, bulky figure appeared before them. Keith wanted to say something to him, but his trembling lips refused to comply with his thoughts. So he just hugged him, burying his head in Shiro's chest and squeezed tight like he might slip out and be lost again. 

"Hey, kiddo." Shiro patted Keith on the back, smiling while resting his chin on his little brother's head. "How have you been?"  

Keith pulled away, reluctant. "Worried sick." He forced a smile, but tears of relief gave him away. 

"Sorry, I'll make up for it somehow." 

Keith shook his head. "I'm just gald you're back."  

 Shiro met Allura's stare and both of their  smiles grew wider. Keith furrowed his eyebrows and stepped aside looking between them. 

"Hey, she said you guys have become good friends." Lance shoved his hands in his pockets. 

The pair seemed surprised by his comment. They both briefly shot a look at the shrugging boy. One of surprise and another of threat. 

Allura laughed nervously. They both seemed to communicate something with their eyes that they both understood. She sighed and let her shoulders drop for a minute before picking herself up again.

"These kids are archangels..." She said.  

"My aunt has called me an angel before but never an _arch_ angel." Hunk laughed.

 "But they're not like me?" Shiro asked. 

"Well, Keith had a little trouble with spirits but... everyone else seems normal." 

There was a moment of silence until Allura continued.

"They should learn how to control their shifting." 

"When?" Pidge asked. 

"They are supposed go to school after all." Shiro exclaimed.

"We just found out we're _archangels_ yet we still have to worry about school?" Lance let his arms drop to his sides, back hunched over slightly. 

"Hey, all _this_ ," Shiro gestured vaguely. "doesn't excuse you from education."  

The group groaned in unison. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how to end chapters I'm sure everyone's noticed already


End file.
